Tuesday, August 31, 2010

In continuation of my earlier post for homemade pav, I want to share the king of mumbai street food "pav bhaji" which is now popular all over India. This chatpata (spicy n tangy) buttery dish with a rich assortment of vegetables is served with pav and it is an eternal favorite and a complete meal in itself. I don't want to keep you waiting so here is the recipe.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Many people do not know that Pav/Pao is a portugese word for bread. This bread was introduced to India by them. The pav is also called “laadi pav” which means a slab of bread rolls as the rolls are baked as one big slab and the individual rolls are pulled apart. This bread is used for two popular street food in mumbai, vada pav and pav bhaji.

With the influx of north indians in Bangalore n Chennai where idly n dosa is an all time favorite, pav bhaji has become popular too.... ... Ask any south Indian what north Indian food they would like to have they would always say either Panipuri or Pav Bhaji .

This bread is very easy to prepare at home too n I got this recipe from Aparnas My Diverse Kitchen. I made a small change in the preparation of activating the yeast as it works for me with better results.

Preparation Time: 15 min

Baking Time: 10 min

Makes: 9 pavs

Ingredients :

2 cups OR little less all purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

3/4 tbsp butter, softened

3/4 tsp active dried yeast

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp butter for brushing on the pav

Cooking Procedure:

In a big bowl add salt sugar n yeast mix nicely. Then add warm milk n melted butter and let it sit for 10 min or till it become active .Once its active then add flour one cup at a time and mix with spatula. Blend slowly till it is soft and elastic .

Note: Do not add excess flour.Now grease the dough with oil nicely, cover it with damp cloth or cling wrap n let it sit for one hour or till the dough doubles in size.

After one hour knead the dough lighty for 1-2 minutes and divide it into nine equal parts. And set in a greased baking pan side by side. And let it sit for another 20 min. Preheat the oven 425 F.

After 20 min start baking, bake the pav until they slightly turn light brown ( approx10 min) then immediately take them out n brush all the pav quickly with butter and bake another 5 min. Take it out and immediately shift the pav to a cooling rack n let them cool.Your pav is ready to enjoy in pav bhaji, masala pav, vada pav !!

for giving me the above "Versatile Blogger Award"... This award means a lot to me ... each of you are so talented and there is a lot I need to learn from you folks ... this award encourages me blog more recipes n try to be more creative... thank you once again

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I would also like to thank Kitchen flavours too ... for passing me the above "Versatile Blogger Award" . You have a great collection of recipes n I need to learn a lot from you too.... thank you so much again for giving me this award.

The rule of these awards is I need to pass to another 10-15 blogger friends, but I want to share these beautiful with everybody so friends please collect it n spread the love...

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Participation Award from Akila of Torview for participating in the "Cold Desserts" Event with a wonderfull roundup of recipes...you can view the cold dessert roundup here

Sunday, August 29, 2010

One of my special moments after marraige was when my hubby gifted me a cookery book "Microwave Cooking with Tarla Dalal". I prepared my first dessert "shahi rabri" from this book. The very name "shahi" means royal n "rabri" means thick milk dessert.

This is an exotic dessert which can be prepared very quickly with minimum ingredients. Cottage cheese is simmered in milk n flavored with pistachio n cardamom.

Preparation Time: 15 min

Cooking Time : 6 min

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups organic milk

1 cup grated paneer(cottage cheese)

1/2 cup condensed milk

2 tbsp finely chopped pista

1 tbsp sugar

1/8 tsp cardamom powder

2-3 drops of rose essence

For Garnishing

1 tsp pista

( Click image for enlarged view )

Cooking Procedure

Mix all the above ingredients in a microwave safe deep bottom bowl n microwave on high for 6 min.In between stir it at every 2 minutes.

Friday, August 27, 2010

This is a very simple n flavorful dal to prepare. It can be had with rice n rotis and it is one of my favorite dal. There are many variations by changing the dal/lentil. I used mung dal but you can also use toor dal or masoor dal. You can try all the variations n I am sure you will the notice the difference but all are tasty.

Then add three cups of water, salt n close the lid, pressure cook for 3 whistles.Then off the flame.Once it cools open the lid mix it well.Add 1 cup water n let it boil for 5 min. And ur dal is ready !!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

This Pasta is very quick n easy to prepare ...and the best part all the ingredients are easily available in India,I adopted this recipe from Nita Mehta's book (Pasta n Corn) with a slight variation,the result was very good n we enjoyed it. Kids will surely love this as its very creamy n less spicy , it is healthy too because of the cilantro,nuts and parsley.

Preparation time :10 min

Cooking time :15min

Serve :2

Ingredients:

2 cups Rotini/or any pasta (any shape)

1 cup chopped cilantro (coriander)

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp chopped garlic

3 tbsp chopped walnuts

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp finely grated cheese(any one)

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/8 tsp pepper powder

salt to taste

Cooking Procedure

Preparing the pesto

In a grinder or blender, combine garlic ,walnut ,salt ,coriander ,parsely,oil,chilli flakes and cheese and blend until finely chopped into a coarse paste .

( Click image for enlarged view )

Preparing the pasta

Bring a large sauce pan of salted water to boil,add pasta n cook until done.Drain water n keep pasta aside.Melt 2 tbsp butter on a pan . Add pasta and toss well sprinkle some pepper on it n mix well. Keep aside.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

In continuation of my earlier post , I have prepared some falafel and tahini sauce to have with the pita bread. Falafel is basically a mediterranean dish made with chickpeas n used extensively to stuff pitas. I had bookmarked this recipe of falafel and tahini sauce from manjulas kitchen and at last this weekend I got a chance to prepare it. Tahini sauce is also very healthy as it has sesame and parsley. We enjoyed it a lot, it was new to me which made it more fun.

Grind all the above ingredients except oil to a coarse paste with very little water, the paste must bind with a simple hand grip. Divide it into 20 balls and deep fry until they turn brown. Keep aside.

Award

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Cooking has been a journey I began after marriage.
But as the saying goes to win a man's heart you have to go through his stomach.Having seen the joy in my husband eyes I think every women should learn cooking even if it means to go the extra mile.
This blog is for all those girls who want to win their man's heart